King Charles I wearing black doublet slashed to reveal white and the Garter Ribbon

Charles I wearing black doublet slashed to reveal white and the Garter Ribbon
set in the original leather case together with nine overlays painted in oil on thin sheets of mica.

The overlays refer to the King’s life before captivity, some are associated with his imprisonment, two show his execution (before and after) and one illustrates him lying in state as a Marty. This is one of a number of surviving sets involving a base miniature of Charles I (there are two other examples in the Royal Collection). Two traditions are associated with the mica series: that Charles II gave away four sets of miniatures of Charles I and that exiled Stuarts used them as mementos for adherents. No corroboration has been found for either story. No complete set of Charles I micas appears to have survived. Such a set may have consisted of as many as 24 overlays. The delicate nature of the mica material has led to considerable fragmentation of the individual micas. This set however is in remarkable condition. There is a set showing Henrietta Maria as the base in the Hermitage, Russia, which appears to be the only known set that is signed by the artist C.Danielson. At the time of writing nothing is known about the artist but it is possible that the artist may have also been responsible for painting all the known sets

Good

It is possible that this set is the one described in Country Life 11 March, 1949, pp. 552-5 as being the property of S.W. Carruthers of London, in that it was a set described with nine overlays